Output reduced at one site after quake damage
An earthquake in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields region has damaged one gold mine, but spared others nearby.
Northern Star Resources’ Raleigh gold operation just outside of Kalgoorlie has been damaged by the tremor, according to the company.
The quake hit at a depth of about 15 kilometres, 30 kilometres west of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. There were reports that the quake could be felt 100km away.
Despite the dozens of mines in the region, the Raleigh project has been the only one so far to report significant damage.
According to Northern Star; “some damage was incurred at the Raleigh underground mine”.
“Production at the Raleigh mine will be temporarily disrupted for around six to eight weeks in order to rectify the situation, which may delay 3000 to 5000 ounces of gold production this year,” Northern Star’s statement to the ASX says.
The earthquake forced the evacuation of the Frog’s Leg and Homestead underground mines, according to local media.
The damage to the Northern Star mine came just after the firm completed its acquisition of the Kundana and Kanowna Belle gold mines from Barrick Gold.
Northern Star's managing director Bill Beament said before the quake that the deal made the firm one of Australia’s biggest gold producers, capable of mining 350,000 ounces of gold per year.